Interview with Machine Head drummer Dave McClain

Oakland, California based metal band Machine Head has announced a tour to support their latest album,Unto The Locust (Roadrunner Records), which was released on September 27, 2011. The album was voted #1 on Sirius XM Liquid Metal, #2 in Revolver Magazine’s end-of-year list, and #31 inDecibel Magazine’s “Top 100 of 2011.”

Machine Head’s career has spanned over twenty years. Having formed in 1991, the band has brought metal to a new level. The band has sold more than 2.4 million albums worldwide since their album debut in 1994.

I recently had an opportunity to speak with Dave McClain about his career in music, Machine Head’s new album, and the upcoming tour. At the age of 13, Dave started playing the drums and knew that he wanted to make a career out of playing music. When asked about his earliest influences, he told me, “KISS is my number one band of all time. My older sister was really into some cool stuff. I remember going through her records and listening to KISS and Black Sabbath. KISS Alive was my first record and it really knocked me out with the imagery, and I fell in love with the music.” Dave is also a big Rush fan and told me that Neil Peart is his all-time favorite drummer.

Dave talked about the band’s songwriting process, and it’s apparent that the members work very well together. Not only does he play drums, but Dave plays the guitar as well. “I record riffs on my laptop, like thirty at a time, and send them to Rob because he’s really good at going through them.” The members will then all meet in a practice room to put their ideas together. When asked about his favorite song to perform, Dave told me that it’s “I Am Hell” because the song is “so intense right off the bat, and is really fun to play.”

Machine Head has had some great moments over the years. Dave said that he has had so many wonderful experiences, and spoke about their release of Blackening (Roadrunner Records), which was their sixth album released in March 2007. He also talked being nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance for “Aesthetics of Hate” from The Blackening, and touring with Metallica. “With the recording of Blackening, we did a complete 180…we were at a point where we were almost not in a band to doing so many great things.”

The tour will kick off this weekend with the first show on Sunday, January 15th in Denver, Colorado. Machine Head is headlining, with Suicide Silence and Darkest Hour as support bands. The band is excited about this tour because it’s the first time they will be doing a full production show with video screens in the U.S.